Leaving
by MV93
Summary: It was just what it was. DL angst, but it has a happy ending. Rated T only to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wasn't going to post this, after reading the reactions to a dannycheatingonlindsay fic. But Brinchen and Elainhe talked me into it. Huge thanks to both of you for reading this and your wonderful reactions!  
I am going to write a second chapter for this. It will have a happy ending. I'd really like reviews, especially for this fic. I don't know if you'll hate me after reading this, but I hope not. Please just give it a try!**

_Disclaimer: Not mine. The idea for the story is, though  
_  
Leaving

"Lindsay, honey…"

"Don't 'honey' me, Danny."

She didn't even turn around to look at him, just kept on packing her stuff. Danny covered his face with his hands, still not quite believing this was actually happening.

They were breaking up.

And it was his entire fault.

"Please…"

He was willing to beg if that would make her stay. But she was determined not to, and he knew it. He had totally screwed it up this time, and he couldn't reverse it.

Lindsay wiped the tears from her eyes and finally turned around.

"Stop, Danny."

He did as she said. Even when they were fighting he did what she wanted.

"I'm leaving and you can't change that. I'm sorry."

"You got nothing to be sorry for," Danny said bitterly, "It's my fault. I screwed up. And don't think for a second that if… if I could do it again…" he choked back a sob. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Lindsay. I want you to believe that… I need you to believe that. I can't miss you, Lindsay…"

Lindsay laughed through her tears.

"I do, Danny, I do believe you. I totally believe you are sorry. And I do believe you'll miss me. That you'll think of me, cry, and wish you could turn back time. But the problem is, Danny, that you can't. And that you didn't think of me when you went into that bar. And you didn't think of me when you were kissing that other woman. Or when you were on top of her, you didn't think of me at all."

"I didn't have sex with her!" Danny protested.

"Whatever."

She turned around, closed her bag and began to walk away. That was it, Danny couldn't handle it anymore. He was going to lose her and he couldn't change that.

"Lindsay!"

She hesitated. Truth was, she didn't want to leave. She didn't want them to be over. She loved Danny. Even though he had betrayed her, she still loved him. But she couldn't trust him anymore, and trust was one of the things needed most in a relationship. Especially for her, she needed to be able to trust her boyfriend. She had thought she could trust Danny, and he had cheated on her.

"Lindsay," Danny whispered in her ear, now standing behind her. "Don't go…"

He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Don't go, please baby, we can work this out… Just… Just give me another chance, please, I promise you can trust me…"

She had almost given in. Almost. Then she saw a vision of Danny and another woman and she got nauseous and stepped away from him.

"Danny, stop, please, you're making this harder for both of us."

"I am?" Danny asked sharply, "So you're saying this isn't hard? It isn't hard for you to just walk out of this apartment and never come back? If this isn't hard, Lindsay, tell me what this is."

She made no attempt to wipe away her tears. He could see them. It didn't matter anymore.

"It's just what it is, Danny," she whispered. "I don't like it, I hate it. But you hurt me, and I can't continue this. Not now. Maybe… Maybe, if you show me that I can trust you again, maybe I will. But…"

She looked around, not knowing how to finish her sentence. At last she looked Danny in the eye, seeing the regret and pain he felt. She closed her eyes for a moment and then turned around to leave. To leave his apartment, to leave his life. But he wasn't ready to let her go yet.

"Lindsay, just…"

She couldn't help turning around. He sounded so lost.

"Just tell me… honestly… is this the end?"

"Danny…"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me anymore."

She looked up and met his eyes.

"I love you, Danny."

His heart jumped at the words.

"But…"

"But what?" he asked, losing his hope again.

"Love, or the absence thereof, isn't the problem. The problem is trust. I can't trust you anymore. That's why… I'm leaving."

"Lindsay, you have to understand… I know, I screwed up, and I won't blame you if you walk out of here and never come back. I won't blame you, I won't hate you. I'll still love you. Forever. And I'll do whatever it takes to show you that. Please don't give up on me just yet, please…"

Lindsay felt the tears running down her cheeks again. She wanted to kiss him, embrace him, feel his strong arms around her just once again; she didn't want to leave. But she had to. He had left her no choice.

"I won't give up on you, Danny," she said, so softly he almost didn't hear her. "But you'll have to earn my trust again. I need to be by myself now, please let me go. And in a while… Maybe we can give it another shot. But we'll have to start all over again."

She sighed.

"I hope that kiss was worth it, Danny."

With those words, she turned around and walked out of his apartment, out of his life. And he watched her descend the stairs, her bag in her left hand. He silently begged her to come back, to talk to him, just to say goodbye. She didn't look back.

**A/N: Eep. Please tell me what you think? I need some feedback here guys )**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks all for your wonderful reviews! They made me write this chapter in what I think is record time. I hope you like the chapter! It has a happy ending  
I think the story's finished. Wow. I did it**

_Disclaimer: Still not mine..._

**Leaving - Chapter two**

"DNA came back. It matches the victim."

Danny nodded, not looking up from his paperwork.

"So we don't really have anything against the husband," Lindsay continued, all the while not looking at him, too.

Danny just nodded again.

"Did you find anything else?"

He shrugged and she sighed. It had been two weeks now since they had broken up, and they weren't really making progress. In the beginning Danny had still tried to talk to her, but she wasn't cooperating. 'I had told you I needed some time, Danny. If I'm ready you'll be the first to know,' had been her answer. Now he had just stopped talking to her at all. Sitting down in her chair, Lindsay let her mind wander to the conversation in which Danny had told her he'd cheated on her.

_"Honey, I'm home!" Lindsay called playfully, walking into Danny's apartment. Most of the time Danny would walk to her and kiss her, but today he stood at a distance and._

"Linds, we need to talk."

She had known that something was wrong almost immediately. Danny couldn't meet her eyes, but kept them locked on the floor.

"What's up?" she said softly.

"Come sit. I have something to tell you."

"Bad news?"

He nodded and they both sat down, Lindsay on the couch, Danny on a chair, facing her.

"Lindsay, before I begin, I want to ask you something. Please don't interrupt my story, okay? I need to tell you the whole story before you say anything."

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay." Danny took a deep breath. "Here I go. Remember when we had a fight, a week ago? Well, I didn't go home after I left your apartment, as I said I had done. I went to a bar, got drunk, really drunk."

He paused, trying to find the words to explain what had happened seven nights ago.

"Suddenly I see this girl. I knew her from when I was young, when we were fourteen we had dated for a while, nothing serious, we stayed friends after we broke up. She saw me sitting at the bar, and she immediately saw I was drunk, so she told the bartender he shouldn't give me the beer I'd ordered. Told him she was taking me home. I didn't agree. Said she would have to drag me home. She just laughed and pulled me on my feet. Everything was spinning.  
I lay down on the floor, told her to go home and let me sleep. She laughed again and crouched down next to me. So here it kind of begins," he said.

Lindsay said nothing, as promised, and wondered what Danny was going to say. Was he going to leave her? Was that what he was trying to tell her? Tears were threatening to fall, but she quickly blinked them away. Don't jump to conclusions, Lindsay, she mentally scolded herself.

"Well, she pulled me on my feet again, and I, well, I… Lindsay, you have to understand, please, I was really drunk, I don't know what I was thinking, I just… Please don't hate me. I kissed her. And, ah, she kissed me back. We were kind of making out in that bar, but that was when she broke away and told me she'd take me home, we could finish there."

Danny's voice was getting softer and softer.

"That's when I realized what I had done, and I told her we shouldn't, I was already in a relationship and I didn't want to screw that up. Though I have screwed it up, I know, Lindsay, but please… Please don't hate me…"

Lindsay got up, still not saying anything, and walked to the back of the couch. She sat on the floor there, her hands for her face.

"Lindsay…"

"I'm sorry Danny."

"What? What are you sorry for?"

She didn't answer, but he heard her crying softly. He didn't know whether he should go to her and comfort her, or leave her alone for a bit. In the end he did the former.

"Lindsay… I'm so sorry."

He put his arm around her and pulled her into an embrace. She cried into his shoulder. Then realization hit her fully and she quickly pulled away. She was now not only sad, but angry also. She walked into the bedroom to gather her stuff.

"Lindsay, honey…"

"Lindsay?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, looking at Danny who had finally decided they had to talk.

"Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention. What were you saying?"

"Look, Lindsay, I know you said you needed some time alone, to think. And I know I told you I'd give you that. I still want to give you time, if you need it. But…" he took a deep breath. "Do you think you could give me another chance?"

Lindsay thought for a while. She really wanted to forgive him, and move on together. But on the other hand… what if he'd do it again? How far would he go next time? Would she be able to forgive him again, then? Probably not. But should she not forgive him for what he'd done out of fear for what he would maybe do? That wasn't fair. She sighed. Actually, she had already forgiven him. The point was now if there were a chance he'd do it again.

"Danny…"

"Yeah?"

"Look, you've been honest with me, so I'll be honest with you now, too."

He nodded.

"I forgive you. But I don't know if I can continue… us. See, in my mind there'll always be the fear that you'll hurt me again. So, I hope you understand my problem here. I want to trust you, I just don't know if I can."

"You can, Lindsay," Danny whispered, tears in his eyes. He stood up What if she decided they were over, forever? "I promise. I don't care if we have to start all over again, but I need you in my life. Please forgive me."

Lindsay, seeing the pain in his eyes, stood up too and walked towards him. She pressed a light kiss to his lips.

"Okay," she whispered, and let her tears fall.

Danny laughed through his tears and enveloped her in a hug. Holding onto each other, they cried, both from sadness of what had been and happiness of what would be. It would take some time for them to reach the point they had gotten to again, but they would. Both of them were determined not to let anything break them up again. This time, they would be together to the very end.

**A/N: So you might think I let Lindsay forgive him too easily. I think it fits, though. But you're welcome to say so if you think otherwise  
So now I'm going back to 'The colors of the rainbow'. I really need to finish that chapter Please review!  
**


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